why do my recordings sound empty?

M

Mikeeley

New member
hey first i will start off naming the things i own

FOSTEX DMT-8VL
MACKIE 1642-VLZ PRO
SHURE SM57'S
AKG D112
AKG C1000
AKG C3000

im recording band and i cant seem to make things sound just right... am i lacking a pre amp? or what? ive spent a lot of money and dont want it to go to waste..... what do real studios use to make things sound so full?

thanks
 
IM me on my sn

xmikeeleyx

i can send it that way.

THANK YOU SO MUCH





also... what is compression.. ive heard thats really important and i really dont know what it is...

thanks again
 
ok. of course your question is impossible to answer, but here are some thoughts.

1.you need to make years of shitty sounding records to make good sounding records, so i wouldnt worry so much.

2.you might be helped by trying to bring someone in who has a little bit more skills so you can learn a thing or two.

3.you need to make sure your instruments sound good in the first place.

4.you probably should use those sm57s a little bit more than you would imagine.

5.you need to make sure you have good monitoring, especially for mixdown. again, dont be afraid to borrow time or gear for this.

6.you need to get a record finished and mastered (well) before deciding, you are probably comparing your material with commercial mastered material. which probably isnt fair. start listening to stuff you know was recorded at home on semi-pro rigs. that is what you have, and that is what you should compare yourself to.
 
Mikeeley said:
what do real studios use to make things sound so full?
Click to expand...

* Real audio engineers with years of experience, tutilage, education, etc. who understand the necessary principles of audio, the interaction of sound waves, and production techniques.

* An optimally-designed, accoustically controlled tracking and mixing environment that incorporates a delicate and calculated balnce of broadband absorption, diffusion, and isolation.

* A wide assebly of quality tools to get the job done, and knowlege of how to best use them aquired through countless hours of trial, experimentation, and education.
 
Try this for your guitar:
-mic your amp with a sm57. like ONE INCH from the cone, but not at the CENTER of the cone. The further from the center you go (horizontally), the more bassy your tone gets. The closer to the center you go (horizontally again), more hi end/crunch will be in -there.
-Turn your gain/crunch/distortion DOWN more than you'd like it to be (not off, just down...don't put it to full blast, back up on it).
-Record the song once. Pan it to the left, say - 50-70%.
-Record the EXACT same thing again (play it again). Pan it to the right this time, the same amount you panned the previous take to te left.

once you see that that does, you can experiment with even more guitar parts (4, instead of just 2), different pannings, and different tones too (very important and useful!).
 
In addition to shackrock's suggestions, you could also mic the room with one of your AKG condensors when recording guitar, drums or whatever
 
quote:
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Originally posted by distortedrumble
jesus was a carpenter..not a musician...satan can play a mean guitar on the tenacious d video
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Jesus wasn't a musician, but his father sure was.
 
how big is your band?

how are you arranging the instrumentation to keep the instruments out of each other's "space".

how are you EQ'ing the instruments to keep them from stepping on each other in the cross frequencies?

are you doubling the rhythm guitar parts (by playing it twice)?

how are you panning the instruments?

you'll need to compress the drums and bass, but i'll let you worry about that later.
 
No...

pkmusic said:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by distortedrumble
jesus was a carpenter..not a musician...satan can play a mean guitar on the tenacious d video
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Jesus wasn't a musician, but his father sure was.
Click to expand...


Heck, everyone knows the devil has all the best tunes!
 
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